On its official blog, Disney Parks provides a glimpse of a new feature found in the recently renovated Space Mountain (expected to begin soft openings this week, with a relaunch date of November 22). As we reported along with the assistance of the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Garcia back in June, the team that did development on Soarin’s interactive queue brought a taste of their magic to the Space Mountain queue. The blog mentions that the long queue (the show building is quite a walk from the entrance) will have multiple games featured with each game’s objective being fundamental to the attraction’s storyline. Each 90 second game will also be able to accomodate dozens of players at the same time.

Mickey Mouse will serve as Grand Marshal for the 18th Annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival® taking place November 21 along Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue. Mickey will be joined by some of his friends as Disney Parks presents its own float in the procession. Also attending and performing during the event will be Disney recording artist and Disney Channel star Mitchel Musso.

Mickey will also be in town to celebrate being this year’s official Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade mascot by appearing later this week as we reported here.

For more information on the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, visit the festival’s official website.

The Vinylmation Park Series #3 release party and artist signing will take place November 20 from 5 pm – 7 pm at the Art of Disney store in the Downtown Disney Marketplace at Walt Disney World. Artists scheduled to be in attendance are Randy Noble, Maria Clapsis, Lisa Badeen, and Quynh Kimball.

BURBANK, Calif. — In two of the Disney Channel’s biggest hits, “JONAS” and “Sonny With A Chance,” the storylines take viewers on and off-stage with the Lucas brothers to see how they live their everyday lives, and backstage with the hilarious cast of the “So Random” sketch comedy show. Two new Nintendo DS™ titles from Disney Interactive Studios will make those experiences come to life. Available today in retail stores nationwide is JONAS for DS, while Sonny with a Chance is currently being developed for release in spring 2010.

“Both JONAS and Sonny with a Chance will deliver fresh new interactive experiences for fans,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “Filled with memorable moments with favorite characters, these DS games allow players to deepen their engagement with both shows with hours of lighthearted fun.”

JONAS for DS is inspired by the Disney Channel Original Series starring the Jonas Brothers, whose characters juggle everyday school and family life as it collides with the pop star world.The game lets fans play as three of the hottest rock stars on the planet, Nick, Joe and Kevin Lucas. Players help the band, JONAS, tear up the stage in six concerts, hang out with friends Macy and Stella, and visit locations such as the brothers’ firehouse and school as seen on the TV show.

JONAS also features popular tunes sung by the Jonas Brothers on the show, including “Live to Party,” “Keep It Real” and “Why,” which players can jam to in performance mode. In addition, players can customize the brothers’ outfits for cool looks in school and in performance mode. In story mode, players collect musical notes to power up their guitars and then strike the right guitar chords to overcome obstacles.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Mark Zoradi, who as president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group handled worldwide marketing and distribution of films, resigned on Monday after 29 years at the company, the studio said.

Zoradi’s resignation comes amid a shake-up at the Walt Disney Co’s movie studio, as long-time chairman Dick Cook’s abrupt departure in September was followed in October by Cook’s replacement with television executive Rich Ross, who until then headed Disney Channels Worldwide.

Also last month Daniel Battsek, who ran Disney’s low-budget Miramax Films, also left after the company slashed the unit’s workforce and curtailed the number of films it would release.

Earlier this year, Disney and Aflac joined forces in order to promote UP in a television spot for the insurance company that cleverly integrated the Aflac Duck with segments from the film.

Not to be outdone, Martin the GEICO Gecko has stepped in to help promote The Princess and the Frog and it’s reptilia y amphibia when the cursed Prince Naveen learns that being hexed is only the beginning of his problems. Is it too much to hope for the next commercial to have Mr. Toad saving money by switching to GEICO?

The big extra included in the Blu-ray release of Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. (November 10) is a game called Roz’s 100 Door Challenge. The game, a twisted combination of movie trivia, math and logic puzzles and occasional silliness, is bound to lead one’s sanity straight to the edge from time to time. It’s with this in mind that we are pleased to present to you our cheat sheet, the first of its kind anywhere as far as we know.

In order to keep things somewhat interesting and mildly honest (given the intent is to help you with the difficult ones), each answer is hidden by default and revealed when you click on the ‘show answer’ link below the question. We do encourage you to try to figure out the answers yourself, but given how we went through the entire game to be able to write this, we understand sometimes a little help can be fun too.

Four months to go until the release of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and the waiting has driven some of us mad and some others madder, least of all the Hatter who has taken to his Facebook page to releasing this first of three new images from the upcoming film. He’s managed to place an embargo on the others however and won’t release anything more until he gets at least 7,500 Likes, so interested parties are encouraged to check out The Disloyal Subjects of the Mad Hatter and vote up the first.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Tiana and Naveen, the royal duo from the upcoming “Princess and the Frog” feature film, will make their debut today in a series of delightful story and picture books on the newly-launched Disney Digital Books.com. The Princess and Frog titles that will be released today include:

Princess Tiana and the Royal BallFor as long as she can remember, Tiana has dreamed about just one thing: having her own restaurant. But after she fell in love with Prince Naveen, she not only got her restaurant, she became a princess, too. Now it’s time for her first royal ball—and her first appearance as a princess. Featuring lilting text and gorgeous illustrations by one of the film’s animators, this picture book picks up where the movie leaves off with an enchanting new princess story that little girls will love.

Burbank, CA (November 9, 2009) – ABC Family continues the holiday cheer with its “Harry Potter” weekend on December 4-6, airing the first four installments of the popular film series as part of the network’s “25 Days of Christmas” programming event.

To add to the magic, ABC Family will also be airing exclusive footage from “Creating the World of Harry Potter,” an eight-hour documentary series revealing the filmmaking magic behind all of the films in the series. For the first time ever, uncover the intimate details, never-before-seen screen tests, inside stories by cast and filmmakers, and directors’ critical decisions behind the creation of Harry Potter’s world on screen. “Creating the World of Harry Potter” is only available in the “Harry Potter Ultimate Edition” series on Blu-ray and DVD. Each Ultimate Edition includes a one-hour feature from “Creating the World of Harry Potter” that highlights a unique aspect of the filmmaking process. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Ultimate Edition” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Ultimate Edition” available on Blu-ray and DVD December 8.

In addition, fans will get an advanced look at the “Close Up with the Cast” piece when they join Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood, as she visits the costume department and shows off some of her jewelry designs. Fans can also go behind the scenes with the cast and crew to see how the infamous Cave was created and what it took to bring the Inferi to the big screen. Both of these pieces will be featured in their entirety on the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Blu-ray Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.